STATCOUNTER

May 2012

Above is an ad for Bond No. 9 perfume. On the bottle it says you can get a refill “on us.” The headline shouts “A free refill.” The copy says bring in an empty bottle and they’ll give you a free refill.

But oops…what does that small size type in the parentheses say? Oh, this free stuff is only “With the purchase of two bond products.” And they even exclude their pocket spray from the offer.

Now, if they had had an asterisk in the headline, to alert us “Chicanery ahead,” that would have been adequate and predictable. But this is pure misleading baloney, (which is not the word I was going for, but since this is usually a PG rated blog, it will suffice).

Brevity is the soul of many things besides wit, as we have all learned from the character limitations of Twitter. But it is a good thing to keep in mind in all our writing, including, and perhaps particularly, our blogs.

Today being a holiday, where you and I are busy being lazy, let me make it easy on both of us, with a link to a blog that has Danny Rubin’s interesting input on the power of brevity.

Ever come up with a good idea, but wanted to find out if it was as good as you thought?

You asked various people; some writers, some art directors, perhaps even some normal people. I am willing to bet that your survey was of no use whatsoever. Some people loved the idea, some hated it and most had no useful opinion. And you were even more confused than when you started out.

This creative truism came to mind because of two reviews of the new Barnes Foundation museum in Philadelphia, which recently moved from the suburbs to the center of the city. The LA Times had this to say: Barnes Foundation museum a bland shadow of once great self.

While the New York Times thought: A Museum, Reborn, Remains True to Its Old Self, Only Better.

As in the familiar, “How could you recommend that movie, restaurant, play, to me?

The truth, of course, is that both papers were correct; art, movies, plays, restaurants, and most experiences are subjective.

The only objective reality here is that people vote with their pockets. If the restaurant closes, the play has no audience, the movie disappears, then it is a failure.

So perhaps the best idea for you is to go with your gut. The market will tell you if the idea was a good one, or at least if it is a successful one.

Above is an ad from Sonos. The text, vertically on the right side, says, “All the music on earth. In every room. Wirelessly.”

That’s about it.

Now, I admit my discomfort with the ad is generational. And perhaps their target audience will “get” it. (No, I won’t tell you who the character in the ad is. But one clue is that he was the house DJ for the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. And this link will reveal all.)

I think it is high risk, for not a high reward.

But this is one of the (rare) times I am not certain that just because I don’t get it means it is not a good idea.

I admit it is gutsy, eye catching, and probably better than using Perry Como. (Don’t ask.)

Let me know what you think. And to be fair, I will break down responses by age.

If you own a small business, then fancy-schmancy, blockbuster TV commercials may be very exciting to watch, but have little relevance to what you might be able to afford to produce…or put on the air.

And while PR and YouTube are free, there is no guarantee anyone will notice your efforts. Hence, the strength of good ideas. They allow you, for example, to do small space ads that actually stand out and get seen. We are not talking the award winning, much praised, linked to and discussed rare wonders. Rather, the quotidian work that shows definite creative effort, and produces above average business results.

Here are four examples. (Yes, I know that for some reason we usually do examples things in threes, but by now you know what a carefree devil I am.) There is no point in detailing why I like them; either you will agree or you won’t.

But I will mention that I think that of the four, though perhaps the illy coffee ad is the weakest, I really like what they also did with their logo on the cup, so that together it reads, “Live happ-illy.”

This is such a good idea, I am consumed with envy, jealousy—there is a difference—and awe. And though it is physically difficult to applaud and cheer while eating your heart out, I couldn’t wait to share it.

To quote from Design Taxi’s piece, where I discovered this promotion, to help Land Rover owners stay alive if they ever get stuck in the desert, Land Rover worked with ad agency Young & Rubicam Dubai to create an edible survival guide.

Along with tips on surviving the harshness of the dessert, the survival guide teaches you things how to build shelters, and signal for help.

But as a last survival resort, because it is made out of edible paper and ink, you can eat the book!

O.K. They have raised the bar to wonderful new heights. But, as someone once said, there is no glory in falling off the lowest rung of the ladder. “Go big. Be bold. Don’t settle.” All clichés, and all so true.

Along with discussing good marketing ideas, I find myself blogging more and more about customer service. That’s because no matter what the good idea was that had gotten your customer to the point of making the purchase, nothing has the potential of undermining your marketing than the moment of truth; the moment when your potential customer, ready and eager to buy your service or product, online or in person, faces your website or sales person.

What happens at that moment can make or break your sale, and eventually, and inevitably, your image.So now let me turn this reasoned, objective blog into a customer service rant. (I don’t often do this, but I am still fuming…and it is my blog!)

Background: Savored.com is a restaurant discount website. Basically, they make and confirm your reservation at one of their listed restaurants, providing a code to give to the manager. You then receive 30% off the total bill, food and beverages, when you receive your check at the end of the meal. A good deal indeed.

I have used their service many times, and it has always been flawless. Till last week, when I made a Friday evening reservation at a Manhattan east side Italian restaurant. Il Riccio…five people, seven p.m. Received my confirmation and we were all set. Then I got a phone call, Friday, at about six p.m., from Savored, saying that the restaurant had cancelled my reservation. They weren’t certain why, and would refund the booking fee, which they used to charged for reservations. (And that, it turns out, is all that they were willing to do. Fairly feeble, and they are keeping Il Riccio on their list of restaurants. Badly played!)

I called the restaurant, and this is where the customer service aspect really rears its nasty head. The manager, or whoever answered the phone, basically said, well, we got busy so why save a table for someone who is getting a discount? His tone was dismissive, indifferent, and when I pointed out that I had a confirmed reservation, his response was that they had never confirmed it, Savored had.

Of course ,I will never go to Il Riccio again. (And I certainly hope, in a show of team spirit, you also avoid it.) If I had the time and strength, I would contact Yelp, TripAdvisor, Consumerist, and post a YouTube video about the bad experience. I would contact every food, restaurant and customer service blog I could find. But I will probably just write this blog about the negative experience. And if I can get the essence into 140 characters, I will Tweet about the problem.

But that’s part of the point. In today’s world, your good and bad interactions can get amplified in ways that could never happen before. Conversations develop. Facebook sizzles. Links. Viral. Who knows where the ripples travel?

It is in your self-interest to provide good customer service. That may not be the selfless, humane, caring reason, but it is a practical one.

Ever notice that the signs on construction fences don’t say, “Post a few bills,” or Post several bills.”?

And that’s a good idea for all of us. The more specific you can be, the more effective and persuasive your message. Don’t try to cram every factoid into your copy, because it will inevitably end up making it sound more general and less focused than you want.

Along the same lines, avoid the cowardly cop-outs such as, “Only for men. Perfect for men. Created for men. Designed for men.” And then add, for fear of losing any part of a possible target, “Good for ladies too.”

Actually, here’s a perfect example of that kind of all-inclusive thinking. An ancient commercial for Irish Spring soap.

A while back I mentioned a review of a book titled “Imagination.” Well, now I have read the book, and I suggest you do the same. (Yes it is on Amazon. No, I don’t get a penny.)

Assuming you will read it, I just wanted to mention two things in particular I found fascinating. (Don’t consider this a spoiler; rather, it is meant to be an amuse-gueule to whet your appetite.)

Here’s one quote that resonated with me, by Yo-Yo Ma. “If you are only worried about not making a mistake, you will communicate nothing. You will have missed the point about making music, which is to make people feel something.”

Substitute the word “ad” for the word “music” and you have in the proverbial nutshell the reason that all the perfect logic in the world can’t compete with a simple, emotional story to motivate people.

And here are some more facts I found fascinating. If I told you Google and Apple were considered the top two innovative companies in the world, could you possibly guess number three?

The surprising (to me) answer is 3M. But as you look into 3M’s history, you realize what an amazing and innovative company it truly is. Here is a piece from Bloomberg Businessweek that tells you about this 110-year old company’s corporate culture and why it still has its mojo.

And here is a promotional YouTube video by 3M. It is quite corporate, and not particularly creative. But the content is worth thinking about, especially when it starts off with the Einstein quote: “Logic will get you from ‘A’ to ‘B.’ Imagination will take you everywhere.”